God gives us lots of opportunities to learn lessons...until we get it, it's gonna feel like Ground hog day!
Yep, we’ve all been there…the same annoying things seem to keep happening to us. But why? Why does our life feel like it’s on repeat?
If you have children, you know that it takes a very long time to train them. I’d say over 18 years! We love our children and invest that time in them so they can be awesome ambassadors for Christ and have a productive life.
As Christians, we are adopted children of God, and he spends lots of time training us to be ambassadors for him as well. I’d say it takes a lifetime! So it’s no wonder our Father has the same problem with us that we have with our children.
Sinful human nature resists correction! And just like we keep working with our children to instill in them the important lessons of life, our Father in heaven keeps working with us to instill these same important lessons.
Exodus is an excellent example of the struggle humans have to learn the lessons God teaches.
Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt after God struck the Egyptians with 10 plagues before Pharoah would let them go!
God parted the Red Sea so the Israelites could walk across to safety on the other side and saw to it that every Egyptian in the military chasing behind them drowned in the wall of water crashing down.
Let’s not forget about God providing water from a rock and food in the form of manna and so much more!
Yet, when Moses went up to Mt. Sinai to speak to the Lord, the Israelites had the most unbelievable reaction:
The Golden Calf- Exodus 32:1-4
When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods[a] who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”
2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods,[b] Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
Uh…seriously? They turned this quickly and completely from God after everything he had done to protect them?
Yep, they sure did. And the sad thing is, if it was us there in the desert, we probably would have done the same thing.
You don’t think so? Think about all the times God has shown up for you and reminded you who he is and that he loves you, yet you still doubt and lose trust and take things into your own hands and leave him out.
Does it still sound to you like we learn lessons quickly? Are you beginning to see why the lessons keep happening and we feel like we are caught in Groundhog day?
I hope you are having a light bulb moment now!
We are truly hard-headed humans, slow to learn and respond to God’s word. The good news is as we strengthen the muscle of obedience and trust it gets easier. Day by day…over a lifetime!
Action steps to learn lessons:
- Get into the Word every day- you can’t expect to know what God is trying to teach you if you don’t understand the lessons.
- Pray God will make your heart sensitive to his voice and teachings and give you a desire to obey.
- Start a journal and record what is happening in your life, your observations, and what questions you have for God. Use this to direct your daily bible study.
- Ask a trusted person to give you accountability. Share with them your struggles and ask them to pray for you and keep you accountable to God’s word. Caution: friends like to take our side so you need to select someone who can be impartial and loves you enough to tell you the truth.
- Have realistic expectations. Remember where we started? Sanctification takes a lifetime! [Sanctification means to set apart as holy, and is the process of becoming more like Christ, by purifying our hearts and minds, through repentance, prayer, and biblical disciplines.]
Groundhog day will happen less and less often as you lean into God and his Word.
When you look back over your life from the 10,000-foot view, you will begin to notice you have grown to be more responsive to God’s lessons and are quicker to “get it”!
You will be quicker to obey God’s word because obedience and trust keep us happy!
Remember the old hymn:
When we walk with the Lord
In the light of His word
What a glory He sheds on our way
While we do His goodwill
He abides with us still
And with all who will trust and obey
Trust and obey
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus
But to trust and obey
This old hymn brings me so much joy!
I remember sitting in church with my mom as a kid, and singing this so many times!
I love it now more than I did back then. I realize how fundamental it is in my walk and I’ve had a chance to see how it plays out when I trust and obey; and when I don’t.
The hymnist tells us Jesus abides with us and we will be happy in him when we trust and obey. What encouragement!
Although we will never be perfect and will always be growing in our sanctification, the process brings blessings, joy, and fewer Groundhog days!